KBKarma

Namely, said I'd be back, then didn't hang around. Funny how that goes.

It seems that every time I post here, I've either matured or changed in some way. It's only been a year, and already things have changed.

For a start, I'll be graduating in November, with a BA (Mod) in Computer Science. That, by the way, is a good thing. Six years of hard slog (well, four years of hard slog and two years of dossing) have resulted in me finally graduating from my degree course. It's so wonderful. I'll probably cry on the day or something.

I've read a whole lot more, and it's wonderful. I'd recommend Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy with no hesitation, as well as Jim Butcher's Alara series. The new Dresden Files novel is well worth a look if you're into the series. I'm also in possession of a Kindle at last, and it is wonderful. I'll put up a journal entry about my feelings concerning the Kindle vs books, but not now. With regards to the latest Dresden Files novel, I preordered it for my Kindle several weeks ago; the day it came out, it was delivered to my Kindle and I was debited the cost. At last, I can read ebooks without getting crippling migraines!

I finally shelled out and bought a DSi, and have been playing a lot of Pokémon recently. Namely, I've got about 20 more before I've caught EVERY Pokémon EVER. Including the new ones. That's 643 (I'm not counting several event Pokémon, since the game doesn't either).

I've finally given in and started LARPing. I'll be going to the Lorien Trust's Summer Moot next weekend in Derby. I've done some training, so it should be fun, whether my character survives the weekend or pops his clogs, like a friend's character did at the previous Summer Moot. I'll hopefully have some pictures to put up, or at least some interesting stories.

At last, I have fully embraced post-rock. Possibly my favourite group is Do Make Say Think, followed by Mogwai. I've also got into math-rock, with Battles (who are AWESOME), and And So I Watch You From Afar, who are from Belfast and thus pretty much local (they, too, are AWESOME). It's amazing how much I've got into the genre(s). NOTE: the track I'm listening to right now is by And So I Watch You From Afar, and it's called Don't Waste Time Doing Things You Hate. It is loud and incredible.

My sister's finally married her boyfriend of several years. Unfortunately, she's decided to have TWO weddings: a civil one in her husband's hometown of Magdeburg in Germany, and a Greek Orthodox one on the island of Aegina (which is famous for its pistachios. Yes, really). The first has happened (and Berlin is a lovely place; Magdeburg is also really nice, but very quiet), and the second is yet to; it'll be the day before my 24th. Considering that there'll be a large number of Greek relatives that I've not seen in my life there, it should be an interesting birthday.

Right, that's enough about me. Again, sorry for disappearing again after promising not to disappear after I last disappeared. I'll try harder to not disappear after saying I won't disappear this time.

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People who aren't ACTIVELY trying to kill me
:iconmrphilby:

Heya. Seems like I always say I'll be back, then drop off the radar. ANYWAY.

I've passed my third year exams, and am finally in my last year of university. And it only took me six years to get to fourth year.

First, some materialism, then some personal.

I'm not going to talk about all the anime I'm watching, as there are a substantial amount, since I've been watching a tonne since I got my results, and I'm fairly sure most of you won't care. In addition to the ones in the Watching box above, I've watched some of Kino no Tabi, Katanagatari, Arakawa Under The Bridge, and Spice and Wolf, and have once more taken on the task of finishing Gintama.

Since last I wrote, I stopped playing Spirit Tracks (not sure why), had picked up and stopped playing Dual Strike, and had got HeartGold. I've finally finished Borderlands with my brother, and we're currently blowing through Diablo II, while I try to finally finish Planescape Torment.

Since December, I've read the entire Temeraire series, the entire Gaunt's Ghosts series except for Blood Pact, the entire Mistborn series, the first three books of the Black Company, volumes 1 to 9 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, one chapter of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei which I found by sheer fluke in a bookstore, Dark Lord of Derkholm, the entire Vorkosigan Saga again, and then again, and four volumes of Saiyuki Reload. And then got the Pathfinder Core Rulebook at last.

I'm busily writing an Unknown Armies game for my own amusement. I'll be running it for a few friends, then submitting it to Leprecon XXXII, and hopefully GMing it as well.

I'm back to working, though I've yet to be paid, due to various mix-ups and mess-ups. Hopefully, I'll be paid before Friday, since I'll be in Belfast for Q-Con by then. And lack of money at a con is a Bad Thing.

My sister's contract expired recently. Within a few days, she'd got work in London, which is where she and her boyfriend are now. I'll be visiting them at some point this year.

I can't tell you how glad I am to have finished third year. Eleven exams in three weeks, half of which were four or five months after the subjects we were being examined on had ended. And I passed all but one through exam marks. That one, I passed by compensation, which is only possible if you pass coursework in that subject, pass every other subject, and score between 30 and 39 percent. I got 30%. And passed coursework for every subject.

After the exams, I was overjoyed. For a day. Then I found out I had two weeks before the results came out. At which point, I spent the following two weeks feeling ready to throw up from nerves. That was my last repeat: you're only allowed to repeat a year once, and can only repeat two years, and you can't repeat fourth year. This was my second repeated year. Next year, if I fuck up, then I'll not be getting my honours degree.

If this journal seems rather disconnected... I know. I don't know why I'm writing like this. Sorry. Lack of sleep, possibly? I don't know.

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Greens, aka Friendlies, aka People Who (Hopefully) WON'T Toss Me Out On The Street If I Turn Up At Their House Seeking Shelter Because I'm A Penniless Student:


Blues, aka T17 Forumites:

Hey y'all! I'm back. Some life updates.

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So, I sat my exams. I failed six. I sat repeats. I failed three. I'm resitting the year. My parents, understandably, were none-too-pleased.

So, while I've come back (no, I have no real idea why), I'll not be around as much until May/June. Since they've recently semesterised college, I have six different subjects per semester. And then the exams in May. For eleven subjects. Some of which I've not seen since December. *whimper*

In closing, I'm going to be doing a lot of work, and trying to not backslide. If I fail this year, then all my efforts for five years now will have been for naught. And I can't repeat, this year, or again. Only two repeats per course, and only one repeat per year. If I pass, however, I'm in my final year, and have got a pass degree. So.

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I recently moved into my new room. Which used to be my sister's old room. Anyway. It's about twice the size of my old room. I now have space for another bookshelf!

I don't actually HAVE another bookshelf, but I have the POTENTIAL to have another bookshelf. So yeah.

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My eeePC has finally kicked the bucket. It seems installing a new OS about six or seven times can kill a solid state drive. Luckily, I got everything out before trying to fix it. Which fucked it up even more. It's sitting in a corner of my room, feeling SHAME.

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Christmas was nice. My brother bought me Borderlands. My sister and her boyfriend bought me some Lindt chocolates and a cool robotic toy beetle (which acts like a cockroach, not a goliath beetle, no matter what they say), and made me a voucher which allows me to ask them to buy me a Kobe Beef burger. Mmmm.

And then my parents went and bought me a new desktop rig and a new (actual) laptop (as well as some nice trousers and a kick-ass cap). The desktop is powerful enough to run any game I throw at it, except for the weak onboard Intel graphics card (no hardware T&L? In this day and age?! WHAT), while my new laptop can run pretty much anything I can throw at it (despite the fact that it has a single-core 2.2GHz processor). As a result, my brother and myself spent over 13 hours on the 26th playing Borderlands. From about 3pm till 4am. Fun times.

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In the wide wide world of RPGs:

Mouse Guard is a very well-designed setting using a modified version of the Burning Wheel system (no, I'd not heard of it before now either). Basically, it works using a d6 dice pool. The setting itself is based on the award-winning comic book series (and it damn well earned whatever accolades it's got). Character generation is in the form of a very well-thought-out questionnaire-thing, which has questions such as "do you horde for the winter, or eat everything now?", amongst others, and requires you to work out your parents' names and jobs, your mentor's name and job, your superior in the Guard's name, and the name, job, and home of your friend and enemy, with a reason for why you and your enemy ARE enemies. The actual game itself takes in two turns: the GM's Turn, where the GM sets obstacles for the players to overcome; and the Player's Turn, where the players get the chance to improve their characters and advance the plot, as well as their characters' personal development. It's a wonderfully simple system, and I recommend looking it up.

I bought Paranoia Troubleshooters, the new edition of the Paranoia rules, this time co-written by Gar Hanrahan, an Irish gamer who regularly writes and runs games at cons, and has written nearly all of the Paranoia XP splatbooks in the past few years. It adds a few new skills, a TONNE of new Mutant Powers, adds in a new random table for starting equipment, new artwork, and explains Tension Levels in a way that even the simple-minded (i.e. me) can understand. And, since I got the Black Missions edition, it comes with a disc containing audio interviews with the creators of the game, mood music, and every book up until now in pdf format. Handy.

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OK, anime. I've watched a fair amount since my last post, over six months ago (a post every six months? Let's hope not, eh?).

At MLeth's and EpicMyst's insistence, I watched Bounen no Xamdou (the English name is rather... unwieldy).
Synopsis: a guy living on an island in the direct flight path of ships from opposing sides in a war is involved in an accident on a bus. Something is stuck into him, and he transforms into a thing. A girl with tattoos on her face appears and takes him with her.
Opinion: First off, the artwork is beautiful. The characters are very well-realised, and you're never quite sure who to root for (until near the end. But... I won't spoil. ). The story could have been told better, I think. It sagged briefly around the middle of the series, and started talking about things I didn't remember hearing about, but I got a handle on it again after a short period. Overall, a very enjoyable anime. Also, one of the few with a main character who doesn't sit around and mutter "Oh, woe is me!" *cough*Shinji*cough*

Series I mentioned long ago that I've now finished:

• Outlaw Star: wonderful series, which I believe led to Gurren Lagann. Only fairly over-the-top, but still.
• Lucky Star: described in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei as a series where nothing happens. And nothing continued to happen up until the end. At which point, nothing had resolutely continued to happen. The series was about the characters and how they interacted, which drove its comedy. A must-watch, if only to see what the craze is about (warning: NOTHING HAPPENS FOR 26 EPISODES. You have been warned...)
• Soul Eater (which has a character called Black Star): A typical shounen series, which is about the battle between, to the surprise of some, chaos and order, rather than good and evil (though most of the chaos side were shown to be pretty evil, the side of order weren't all rainbows and lollipops themselves). Apart from the slight ass-pullery in the end, a solid series from start to finish.
• Yakitate!! Japan: Oh gods, this series was worth all the time I spent watching it. It had more horrible, terrible, APPALLING puns than I'd ever heard (one of the worst, however, came from Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei; more on that anon). And it was hilarious. If you want to see a shounen series that gives nods and winks while it uses time-honed clichés, and is completely off-beat, look no further.

I've watched a LOT of anime in the past six months. In order to prevent serious bloat, a brief summary of new anime I've finished:

• 5 Centimetres Per Second: really nice. It follows the relationship between a boy and a girl as they slowly grow apart.
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2: I liked it, even the Endless Eight arc. Admittedly, I liked it more AFTER it ended, but still. Good, but not as good as the previous season.
• Zoku and Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Zoku started splitting up the episodes into three parts. Goku was three episodes long and had bloody creepy opening animations. Overall, the series got weirder. And crazier. And much funnier. Top-notch.
• K-On!: Like Lucky Star, but replace "26 episodes about four geeky girls doing nothing" with "13 episodes about four girls trying to start a band". Cute as hell at times, and the animation staff really did their work on the instruments. Not bad at all.
• Haibane Renmei: Finished this only last week. From the creator of Serial Experiments Lain. However, while it also involves mystery, it's a much gentler series, and leaves much unanswered (all according to plan, says Yoshitoshi ABe). Very very nice. Will tug your heartstrings all over the place.

Here's a short list of anime I've started/am continuing to watch:

• One Piece: Still going strong. The only one of what I call the Big Three (Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece) to hold my attention anymore. And, in my opinion, it deserves it.
• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: As of episode 8 or so, they'd got to the same point in the original (episode 12 or so) where the anime and manga parted ways (chapter 15 of the manga, or thereabouts). At which point, it slowed down slightly, and then continued its relentless assault. The latest episodes are set in Briggs. If you've read the manga, you'll know that that means something awesome has happened or is about to. And you're right.
• Gintama: I FINALLY started this. Think Bleach, but snarkier, and much dirtier. And filled with far too many jokes, pop-culture references, and side-swipes at other series to be taken seriously.
• Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: I really need to watch the last episode. I've just never really got round to it. Zan introduced storylines that extend over multiple episodes. And then, in one episode, cemented my love of the series for ever. If you've watched it, it was the episode part (skit?) with leap people.
• Mushishi: I've only watched one episode of this, but I really liked it. Far gentler and slower than anything else on this list. Set in early feudal-period Japan, it follows a man who studies strange lifeforms called mushi, hence the title. The backgrounds all look like beautiful watercolour pictures. I'm really wanting to get back into it.
• Bakemonogatari: Translated as MonStory. Made by SHAFT, who also make Zan. So, the artwork is lovely, and changes in some way every few minutes (ie silhouettes to an action shot to insert cards with the dialogue printed on them, etc). Only seen one episode of this as well, but it looks... Well, interesting, to say the least.

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I've got an idea for a story in my head. I've got all the major characters, all the plot-points, even how the magic system works. The only problem is...

... It requires me to start doing research on world history. Starting in around 1066. And working my way up. ;_;

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Greens, aka Friendlies, aka People Who (Hopefully) WON'T Toss Me Out On The Street If I Turn Up At Their House Seeking Shelter Because I'm A Penniless Student:


Blues, aka T17 Forumites:

How y'all doing? I've finished my first set of exams in February (gaaah... :weep and my second set on Monday (eh. Not too bad).

My brother and myself have got new beds now. Which I pretty much assembled myself. After I helped disassemble the first lot. Yay. On the plus side, one-foot-thick matresses. With springs! Awesome stuff.

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All the anime I mentioned last time? Finished 'em all. Been watching Valkyria Chronicles, though I'm not quite sure why, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the new series, which follows the manga much more closely. I'm wondering how many episodes this series will be going on for, because it seems rather... rushed.

Two anime that I will recommend, since I watched them recently, are Last Exile and Ergo Proxy. The former is a steampunk aeronautical adventure, with some cyberpunk thrown in for good measure. While the latter is cyberpunk in the extreme, and doubles up with paranoia, conspiracy, and general mindfuckery. Both are excellent.

I accidentally watched the first two episodes of Gintama. Oh wow. It's hilarious. And it apparently gets BETTER. After I finish Yakitate!! Japan, I'll be watching this.

Of course, I'll have to START Yakitate!! Japan first. I'll do so tonight.

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The new Anamanaguchi album came out. Dawn Metropolis is awesome, and is a major change from Power Supply. If you enjoy rock and chiptunes, you owe it to yourself to buy this one.

And the new MONO album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind? Is MONO at the top of their game. Sheer awesome, with a 24-part orchestra backing them up. Yes, they had an ORCHESTRA backing them up. And it's wonderful. My favourite track is the last, Everlasting Light, which is beyond epic.

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I got tagged (indirectly, of all things...) by , and so, introducing you to Karma, my rather jaded OC.

Rules:
1. You must choose only ONE of your OCs. Do it again if you wanna use another OC.
2. Your OC must answer every question as truthfully as possible.
3. Title the journal as "OCs Quiz (your OCs name)".
4. When you're done, tag as many people as you want.
5. Have fun!!!


1. Hi! What's your real name and nickname?
Karma. Well, that's what everyone calls me. I don't actually know my real name. I had all traces of it removed in a variety of ways.

2. Interesting... what's your current age?
36.

3. Uh huh. What's your favorite food?
Pretty much any meat. As long as it can't have a conversation before it's killed, I'll eat it.

4. And your favorite drink?
Whiskey.

5. Your crush/lover?
None. I don't hang around long enough.

6. Aww! Have you two kissed yet?
See above.

7. Classic question! What's your favorite colour?
...

Blue. Seriously, what kind of interview is this?

8. Who's your favorite author?
Einstein. Seemed to be a decent guy.

9. Now what's your biggest fear?
Finally meeting someone I can't beat.

10. *stifles a giggle* I'm not laughing *bursts out laughing* Sorry. Any siblings?
...

I had a brother.

11. Almost, it's only twenty questions. Who's your hero?
Heroes... No-one comes to mind.

12. Ok, who is your worst enemy?
Mostly? The people I didn't kill. As I said, I don't hang around for very long.

13. What would you do if your hero and your worst enemy got together?
If I had one, I'd sit back with a sniper rifle and some popcorn and just wait.

14. Interesting... what would you do if you met your creator?
Probably throttle him for conforming to so many clichés and tropes.

15. Okay, I'll contact them right now. Done! Now, what do you want to be when you grow up?
... "Grow up"? Do I look that young?

I've been a mercenary for seven years. An assassin for six years before that. I wanted to have an actual future before... well.

16. What's your worst nightmare?
I still remember the night my family died. I've dealt with that, but I still see it.

17. What's your lifelong dream?
I wanted to be a hero or something when I was younger. And look how that turned out.

18. What would you do if your lifelong dream came true?
Be rather surprised.

19. Ok, where's your favorite place to relax?
I rarely relax. Oddly enough, the only place I can come close to relaxing is Limbo. I know a few Giths, and I can actually get a good night's sleep without waking up multiple times. I only really wake up once.

20. Last question! What do you spend most of your time doing?
Trying to not get killed, trying to kill someone else, training, travelling, repair work. Mercenary work is rather sedentary.

21. We're done! Now tag whoever you want. DO IT!
Anyone who has an OC and feels like it.

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Greens, aka Friendlies, aka People Who (Hopefully) WON'T Toss Me Out On The Street If I Turn Up At Their House Seeking Shelter Because I'm A Penniless Student:


Blues, aka T17 Forumites:

Hope y'all had a good Christmassy period.

I have had an... interesting one. Apart from Christmas Day, I've been studying and doing assignments non-stop. And I've barely slacked off *gasp*.

My laptop committed graphical suicide twice. Since I'm sure KDE caused the second one, I'm removing it ASAP. It's neutering my machine.

I've picked up some new anime series.

Outlaw Star is a space epic that helped inspire Bebop, and has some good jazz riffs. Also, magic lasers and spaceships with arms. Which are always fun.

Soul Eater is set in a school where some of the students are meisters (that's the term for them in the series) and the rest are their weapon partners. Yes, people who turn into weapons. It has some pretty good fight scenes.

Lucky Star is set in a high school and follows four girl geeks as they live their lives. It might seem an odd choice after the preceeding, but it's pretty funny.

I've also recently finished some.

I rewatched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Which is still awesome. I got more of the jokes and important shit this time around.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex. Hells yes. This was great. If you've watched the two movies, this is a must-see.

Eureka 7 starts as a big stompy-mecha series with secrets. Then secrets start leaking out, and it turns into a commentary on nature, rights and life. Most importantly, though, it's a love story. In fact, it's several. Some newly-starting, some restarting, some ending, some constant. It's wonderful. Though the last episode is a bit of a "WTF?".

Serial Experiments Lain will make you think. It explains itself (sort-of) in the end. First mindscrew series I've understood eventually. In my opinion, though, it's much more enjoyable than Eva. Don't kill me, MLeth! I can explain! I watched Eva when I was fourteen. It was the second anime I ever watched. The first was Spirited Away. So, yeah, I was floored by the differences.

Well, away I go. More stuff to watch. For what I've been watching, go here. For more updates, go either here (Tumblr) or here (Twitter). Good night!

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Greens, aka Friendlies, aka People Who (Hopefully) WON'T Toss Me Out On The Street If I Turn Up At Their House Seeking Shelter Because I'm A Penniless Student:


Blues, aka T17 Forumites: